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Showtime

The most prestigious and important boxing match since 2015's record-breaking clash between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao takes place on Saturday as the sport sets to crown an undisputed welterweight king. 

Unified champion Errol Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) puts his IBF, WBA and WBC belts at stake against WBO champion Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) when the two meet inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Showtime PPV, 8 p.m. ET) in a long-awaited superfight presented by Premier Boxing Champions. 

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As we draw closer to this welterweight summit, let's take a closer look at the biggest storylines.

1. Stakes on stakes: It doesn't get any bigger than this

Just how big is Spence-Crawford? This pair of unbeaten champions might not be on the same level of global fame as Mayweather and Pacquiao, but the hype surrounding Saturday's fight has been fueled by a similar five-year build of debates and mythical matchmaking until the business side of things were finally right. The difference, however, is Spence and Crawford are closer to their actual fighting primes than their welterweight predecessors at ages 33 and 35, respectively. The stakes for both fights are also similar as this one is set to determine who is the best current welterweight, the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport and the best fighter of their own divisional era, all on the same night. This will also be the first time in the four-belt era that a truly undisputed champion will be crowned in the prestigious 147-pound division. 

2. This fight holds up to historical comparisons just fine

While Spence has spent the entirety of his 11-year pro career at 147 pounds, Crawford has steadily moved up in stages while capturing titles in three weight divisions along way (including becoming the first four-belt undisputed champion in junior welterweight history). But it didn't take long upon Crawford's arrival on the welterweight scene in 2018 to realize that not only was a clash between the two inevitable, boxing was dealing with a pair of truly all-time great fighters who could've succeeded in any era. Given the hype surrounding this fight, it's also not out of bounds to put Spence-Crawford in the same lineage of great welterweight unifications over the past half century that became front-page news across all of sports: Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns (1981), Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad (1999) and Mayweather-Pacquiao. The difference between then and now might be that those three fights never produced immediate sequels and only Leonard-Hearns had a rematch at all, which came eight years later and three weight divisions higher (producing a disputed split draw result). Both Spence and Crawford, however, signed bi-lateral rematch agreements, which gives both parties the ability to secure a second fight if desired, regardless of the result this weekend. The fact that Crawford signed a three-fight deal with PBC to secure this fight only adds to the likely confirmation that these two meet (at least) one more time.

3. Spence-Crawford presents the perfect contrast in styles

Although it's true that both boxers are versatile and well-rounded enough to win a fight in any manner it calls for, the foundational bases of what makes them great couldn't be anymore different. Spence, a hard-hitting southpaw, is about as orthodox as it comes when talking about the pressure style that makes him so effective. Only, Spence has just about every tool a great boxer-puncher would want and need, including a heavy jab, huge gas tank, great chin and the ability to throw punches in bunches from any range. Even though Spence once tried to prove a point (and succeeded) by dominating unbeaten Mikey Garcia through exclusively outboxing him from distance, he's at his best by staying on top of his opponent and steadily breaking down their defenses through heavy body shots and constant forward pressure. That's exactly what he did last time out against Yordenis Ugas in their April 2022 unification bout that ended via 10th-round TKO after Spence broke his orbital bone. Crawford, on the other hand, is the abstract painter of the duo as a switch-hitting wizard who uses length, speed and dazzling movement to confound opponents. Once Crawford switches to southpaw, which has happened as early as the second round, his opponents have been routinely done for the rest of the way. Crawford is unquestionably the more talented pure boxer of the two yet wouldn't have this impeccable of a record if he didn't employ a necessary backbone as a nasty finisher once he has his opponent's hurt. 

4. It's a wonder this fight even came to be

Often times, it takes a mountain of luck and good fortune for a superfight so many years in the making to actually come off. For Mayweather-Pacquiao, it meant surviving a pair of "PacMan" defeats, including a violent one-punch knockout loss to rival Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012 that could've sunk the fight altogether. That fight also benefitted from a few chance encounters that aided in getting the contract sealed, including the two fighters randomly running into each other at an NBA game in Miami and a Los Angeles waiter convincing then-CBS Corp, CEO Les Moonves to act as a middle man. This weekend's fight nearly fell apart altogether last year when Crawford, who spent years on the opposite side of boxing's political street with Top Rank, chose against signing with PBC to take a one-off bout for upstart promoter BLK Prime. But all of that pales into comparison for what Spence went through physically just to get here. Spence, who wasn't wearing a seat belt, infamously flipped his Ferrari and was thrown from the vehicle during a 2019 drunk-driving crash that left him lucky to be alive with just minor injuries (including having his teeth knocked out). After taking almost all of 2020 off before returning to outbox Danny Garcia, Spence then underwent surgery to repair a detached retina that pulled him from a 2021 pay-per-view bout against Pacquiao and once again placed his future in jeopardy. 

5. Talk is cheap but intensity, competitiveness pays the bills

Sure, the bi-coastal press conference tour in June to help promote this fight featured a few unexpected zingers from both fighters. But this was never a matchup that was built upon the superficial hook of trash talk and bad blood between competitors. And the best news is, it doesn't need to be in order for this matchup to be considered one of the single biggest superfights this century. What we did learn about the two boxers throughout the pre-fight build, which included a two-episode "All Access" documentary series from Showtime, was how much each respects the other one and how much potential that has to create such stone-cold competition between them. Both fighters have spent the past few months talking up just how "old school" this fight feels and the good news for the paying public this weekend is that it's expected to translate into thrilling action. For all the disappointed casual boxing fans who paid $100 on PPV for Mayweather-Pacquiao and then were beside themselves when the two turned in such a technical boxing match void of big risk taking and drama, Spence and Crawford have both been very vocal about their plan to go through one another in order to win. Knowing the temperament, toughness and firepower between them, that's exceedingly great news for those on the fence about ordering a fight that almost screams its promise of full-throttle entertainment.